1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to blower dryer operation and, more particularly, is concerned with a pulsed airflow generating mechanism for a blower dryer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When drying one's hair with a conventional blower dryer, the force of a constant airflow generated by the blower dryer can cause deleterious effects to the hair. Specifically, the constant airflow can cause the hair to mat. Further, the concentration of constant airflow on one region of the hair can cause overheating of the area of impingement and damage to the hair. Also, in the case of hair curls, the constant airflow can cause straighening of the curls, disturbing their setting.
Various proposals of designs for modifying the constant airflow to reduce the above-noted deleterious effects on one's hair appear in the prior patent art. Representative examples of such proposed designs are the ones discloses in U.S. Pat. Nos. to Tomaro (4,295,283), Shulman (5,054,211), Yoshihara (5,121,463) and McDougall (5,157,757). Of these proposed designs, only the design of the Yoshihara patent, which produces an intermittent pulse-like flow, instead of a uniform constant flow, appears to be a step in the right direction for reducing the above-noted undesirable effects. However, the hot air pulse generator of the Yoshihara patent employs a complicated arrangement of a baffle and butterfly valve to achieve the pulsed airflow which appears to be an unsatisfactory solution to the aforementioned problem. Thus, a need still exists for an improved pulsed airflow generator design.